How playing in Classic could help Torres

This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

An incredible World Baseball Classic concluded Tuesday evening in Miami with a dream matchup between two Angels superstars, Japan’s Shohei Ohtani striking out Team USA’s Mike Trout in a six-pitch showdown decided by a whiff on an electric slider.

Back in Yankees camp after his Venezuela squad was felled in the semifinals, Gleyber Torres could sense the magnitude of the moment.

“I don’t know how a World Series feels in New York; I think it’s awesome, too,” Torres said. “But the WBC is amazing. It’s another level. Many Latin players, many Latin people. The crowd, the fans. The energy when you play in those situations is just unreal. When you’ve got the opportunity to play for your country, it’s amazing.”

Torres was one of three Yankees Major Leaguers to participate in the Classic. Kyle Higashioka was on Team USA’s roster and appeared just once as a defensive replacement in the top of the ninth in Sunday’s 14-2 win over Cuba, and Jonathan Loáisiga pitched two innings for Nicaragua. Nestor Cortes had committed to Team USA but dropped out due to a right hamstring injury sustained in February.

“It’s different than a normal spring game. I felt like those kinds of games, those situations, will help me,” Torres said. “It was like a World Series or playoffs every day. I feel a little more ready.”

Representing Venezuela was significant for Torres, given the political instability in his home country.

“The situation we have in our country is hard,” Torres said. “But with those games, we felt we pulled the people of Venezuela together. I think that is the best experience we had. After the game we lost, for sure it was sad. But we were talking about how we impacted our country. There are many struggles, but for those games, the country was together with us. I think that is the beautiful thing about baseball.”

As Torres sheds Venezuela’s yellow, blue, and red in favor of the Yankees’ navy blue and white, the infielder said his focus is on the club’s March 30 season opener against the Giants.

“Just do my thing, play my defense, try to play the most games possible to be ready for Opening Day,” Torres said. “I’ll just try to be more focused on the little things and be ready.”